Given the Circumstances
by Krisadilli
Summary: When Hermione gets kicked out of the library, she runs into the source of the trouble: the Weasley Twins. One-shot. Hermione Granger x Fred Weasley. Fremione. Rated T for older content. **May continue later; not sure yet.** Read and review, please!


She sat in the library, curled up in an armchair; she was reading, of course. Madam Pince had already provided her with the books she wanted to read. She knew she was supposed to be on prefect duty, but Ron said he would take her shift, just because he knew that she wanted some time to herself. She'd have to thank him later for that. Sometimes, that boy could be sweet, and then at others, she'd want to rip his throat out.

She settled more comfortably into the comfy armchair, becoming engrossed in the book she was reading. It was a defense strategy book; it was something she was reading for Defense Against the Dark Arts, because that god-awful creature known as Dolores Umbridge wasn't teaching the students anything, and she thought that she should at least be _semi-_prepared for her O.W.L's.

She sighed, and closed her eyes for a moment, letting them rest. It was a Saturday, but she had resorted to spending the day in the library, so she could have her "me time". She smiled as she reopened her eyes, and went back to reading the book. She was so engrossed by the book that she didn't see a little black thing scurry out from her bag. She didn't even look up as she heard a scurrying noise across the floor; she was used to the mice running around this particular corner of the library.

Suddenly, a loud—and rather rude—noise came from the aisle closest to her, and she very nearly leaped out of her skin. As it was, she stood up quickly, sending her book sprawling out across the floor. She looked around, her brown eyes narrowed as she tried to pinpoint where the noise had come from.

But before she could figure out where it came from, Madam Pince appeared right next to her, her vulture-like face even more pronounced as the woman shook with rage. "Miss Granger!" she squawked. "Just what on _earth_ do you think you're doing, disrupting my library? Out! Get out, now!" She shooed the prefect out of the library, charming Hermione's bag and books to chase after her.

When Hermione was safely out of the library and down the hall, she gathered her books together and thrust them into her bag, with more force than necessary. She thought she knew who was behind this, and she was livid; almost as livid as she had been when yelling at the twins for giving first years Skiving Snackboxes. "Ooh, when I get my hands on them, I'll… I'll…" She didn't finish as she pulled her bag over her shoulder. Her brown eyes were ablaze with anger as she started toward the Gryffindor common room.

When she rounded the corner, she ran into something softer than a wall, but still very hard. "Excuse me," she said curtly, not even bothering to look up at the person she ran in to. When they didn't move, she looked up, intending to scold them for not moving when she asked. "I'm a prefect—oh. It's _you_." Her tone was filled with hostility.

"Well, it's good to see you to, 'Mione," one of the twins responded, smirking down at her. When he saw her face, he frowned slightly. "'Mione? What's wrong?" His brother merely grinned at her.

Hermione folded her arms across her chest, and glared up at the Weasley Twins. "Why don't you tell _me_, Mr. Weasley?" she spat. There was no trace of warmth in her voice.

The twins looked at each other, and she saw understanding flash between them. They turned back to her, and the slightly taller one—Fred—grinned brightly at her. "So, what did you think of our latest invention?" he asked her, his blue eyes bright.

Hermione glowered at him. "I was not amused, Fred Weasley," she growled. Her "me time" had quickly turned into "berating Fred and George for doing something idiotic _yet again_" time, and she wasn't too thrilled, to say the least.

"Aw, c'mon, Hermione!" George nudged her, smiling at her. "Admit it; it was pretty good."

Hermione just frowned at him, annoyance evident in her gaze. She turned, and started walking back towards the common room.

She heard whispers behind her, and finally: "Go on; I'll try to talk some sense into her." She frowned at Fred's statement, and looked back, narrowing her eyes at the twins.

George grinned over at Hermione, and then winked at her. "Good luck, Fred," he said, nudging his brother playfully before going off in the direction of the Great Hall. She rolled her eyes, and then turned away from Fred, continuing on in the direction she was headed before.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, bringing her to a stop. She whirled around, her hand tightening around her wand as she glared at Fred. "What do you _want_, Fred?" she hissed. "You got me kicked out of the library, and Madam Pince was less than thrilled at me! She thought _I_ made the noise, when I _didn't_! What on earth _possessed_ you to do that?" Her voice rose with each word, until she was practically screaming at him.

Fred merely rolled his eyes. "C'mon, lighten up, 'Mione!" he groaned. "It was a _joke_! We thought it was funny, and so did the other people in the library. Guess you can't take a joke now, huh?" He smirked down at her, taunting her.

Hermione drew herself up, letting her bag fall to the ground as she took a step closer to Fred. She jabbed him in his chest with her finger. "I _can_ take a joke, just not when I wanted to have this Saturday all to myself," she growled, her eyes mere slits. "You should know enough by now that I do _not_ like being disturbed when I'm reading!" With every word, she jabbed his chest with her finger.

Fingers closed over her wrist, stilling her hand. She met his eyes, still fuming. What enraged her further was that Fred just looked amused with her. His eyes danced with mirth at her rage. He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut across him.

"Or are you really as stupid as you look?" Her eyes widened with shock as she realized what she had just said. She looked up at him, mortified. "Fred, I—"

Before she could finish, Fred dropped her hand, no trace of his usual warmth in his expression. In fact, he looked cold. "I don't want to hear it, Hermione," he said quietly, and he turned around to follow his brother.

She reached out, and grabbed his arm. "Wait, Fred, I didn't mean it—"

"Save it," he snapped, not even bothering to look at her. He shook her off and started walking away from.

"Fred!" Hermione called, her voice cracking. "I'm sorry!" She stared after him, deflating as it looked like he wouldn't respond.

To her surprise, Fred stopped, and then turned to look at her, amusement glimmering in his eyes. "Did the Great Hermione Granger just apologize?" he teased her, a smirk playing at his lips. He started back towards her, laughing lightly.

Hermione gaped at him, and her earlier feelings of rage came back. "I hate you, Fred Weasley," she spat, backing away from him.

"No, you don't." He was very close to her now, and she tried backing up even more, but she ran into the wall. He had her trapped. "You could never hate me," he murmured, that smirk still on his face.

Hermione's heart started to race as she tried to think up of a retort. All she could manage was: "That's what you think." She winced internally at the stupidity of her comeback, and it didn't help when Fred laughed.

"Is that really the best you can do?" he asked her, placing his hands against the wall on either side of her head. He gazed down at her, grinning crookedly. "For the brightest witch of our age, you sure have some pretty lame comebacks, 'Mione."

"Well, that was the best I could come up with, given the circumstances," she mumbled, trying to avoid his dark blue gaze. She squirmed, trying to escape by ducking under his arm. She very nearly succeeded, but she felt a hand wrap around her arm.

"Not so fast, Miss Prefect."

He spun her around, and she stumbled slightly, falling. She felt his arms wrap around her, steadying her. She looked up at him, and thought she saw concern flash in his eyes before he released her. She stood up, looking down at her feet, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks.

"I'll see you around, 'Mione." She didn't look at him, but she felt his lips brush her forehead softly. When she finally did look up, she saw him turn a corner and disappear from her view. She reached up, and brushed the spot where he had kissed her. A smile spread across her face; she knew, as she picked up her bag and started back towards the common room, that she looked like a dewy-eyed schoolgirl, but she didn't care. Not anymore.


End file.
